Apple expands SSD options for configure-to-order iMacs

If you're in the market for a new iMac and you value raw speed over storage capacity, you may be interested in a recent change at Apple's online store. Apple is offering new storage options for iMac buyers interested in configuring their systems with Solid State Drives (SSDs), according to Eric Slivka at MacRumors. Now Apple will configure 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs with 256GB and 512GB SSDs. You'll add $300 or $600 to the cost of your machine, respectively.

This is particularly good news for 21.5-inch iMac customers, who up until now have been limited to two choices: either a 1TB SATA hard disk drive, or a 1TB "Fusion" drive that mixes 128GB of SSD storage and a conventional hard disk together to improve performance. Going pure SSD should speed things up even further.

Apple continues to offer a 768GB SSD as a $900 option on the 27-inch iMac, but the other two SSD sizes allow users with tighter purse strings to jump on the SSD bandwagon without paying such a heavy premium.

Next up →

Reader comments

Apple expands SSD options for configure-to-order iMacs

Good article. 27"iMac and tighter purse strings shouldn't be used in the same article together, they shouldn't even be on the same page of the blog together. :) that's kinda like saying now offering a 15" MacBook Pro in an economy line. Surely I jest just wanted to let you know someone is reading and interested in the Mac stuff :)

Questions. I will be purchasing a 21.5 MAC soon. I had settled on the 1T fusion drive (+$250), but now with the 256GB SSD option (+$300) I'm thinking SSD. I don't need 1T of storage, none of my 3 Windows PCs have more the 60GBs of used space on their hard drives. Purchasing the MAC means leaving 25 years of PC experience behind. So my question is.... Does the MAC OS and standard supplied apps occupy similar GBs as a PC, roughly 30GB? Would the SSD and Fusion drives be equally reliable? My PCs have had a useful life of about 10 years, could I expect the same for SSD?